First-time startup checklist

Work through this in order. Each step depends on the one before it, and skipping ahead is how people end up troubleshooting the wrong thing.

1. Power up

Plug the machine into a grounded wall outlet and switch it on. The screen should light and boot on its own. First boot takes longer than later ones — give it a few minutes before you decide something is wrong.

Worth knowingIf the screen stays dark but you can hear the machine running, the issue is usually the screen's own power or data connection rather than the machine. Check the article on an unresponsive screen.

2. Get it online

Do this before anything else. Almost every other setup step involves the machine and the platform talking to each other, and troubleshooting is far easier when you are not also wondering whether it is connected.

Wi-Fi: see Connecting your machine to Wi-Fi.
Cellular: see Connecting your machine to cellular, which covers APN settings.

3. Check the time zone

Set the machine's time zone before you do anything else with it. Every sale, every error and every restock is stamped with the machine's own clock, so a machine in the wrong time zone produces sales reports that are quietly wrong — and you may not notice for months.

4. Change the default password

ImportantDo this on day one, on every machine. New machines ship with a common default service password, which means anyone who has ever owned one of these machines knows yours. A service menu gives access to free-vend and pricing.

5. Set your service contact details

Put your own support phone number and, if the machine supports it, your QR code on the screen. When a customer loses money, you want them contacting you rather than shaking the machine or complaining to the venue.

6. Load products and set prices

Covered in detail in Adding products and setting prices and Loading your first products. At this stage it is enough to get a few items in so you can test.

7. Test everything before you walk away

This is the step people skip, and it is the one that saves the return trip.

Run a test vend from at least one coil in each tray, top and bottom. Lanes are wired individually and a single dead lane is common.
Pay with a real card, not a test mode. Then check the sale appeared on the platform within a few minutes.
Refund yourself the test purchase so your first day's numbers are clean.
If the machine takes cash, insert a note and a coin and confirm both are accepted and credited correctly.
Confirm the machine shows as online in the platform, and that the product counts on screen match what you physically loaded.

8. Photograph the finished machine

Take a photo of the loaded, lit, working machine in place. It is useful for the venue, useful for your own records, and — since you are posting on TikTok anyway — useful content.